ATLANTA — The region championship is at stake Friday night in a Region 4-5A battle.
In a neutral site contest between Arabia Mountain and Tucker at Adams Stadium in Atlanta, each team will be looking to win their first region title since 2017 -- when they were in different classifications.
The Rams of Arabia Mountain High School in Lithonia have smothered opponents defensively this season -- allowing just an average of 11 points per game en route to their current 8-1 record. They haven't even allowed over 100 points (99) all season to this point.
They are looking for their first winning season since 2018, when they went 6-5 and were eliminated in the first round of the GHSA playoffs -- a place they have found the end of their season in four of the past five years.
The Rams are on a current 8-game winning streak. After losing the season-opener 16-15, they have gone on to win every game since, including all four of their region matchups.
Tucker, on the other hand, lost three consecutive non-region games (Dacula, McEachern, Stephenson) in the month of September before rebounding nicely in region play. Their offense is potent -- averaging just under 46 points per game in their four region wins thus far. The Rams have allowed an average of 6 points per game in region play, which should set up an interesting battle come Friday night.
The Tucker Tigers are fairly one-dimensional. They rely on senior running back Jordan McCoy, and rightly so. The talented back has rushed for 1,475 yards on 174 carries -- an average of 8.5 per carry and a whopping 184.4 yards per game. Not to mention, he's also scored a mind-boggling 24 rushing touchdowns.
The Arabia Mountain defense will surely have a test trying to slow him down.
After dominating in the late 2000s and early-to-mid 2010s, Tucker has fallen off in recent years. They won two state championships -- in 2008 and 2011, respectively -- but have gone out in the first round of the GHSA playoffs in the first round in the last five years.
With Tucker having much success since their program was created in 1949, the Arabia Mountain High School football program that launched in 2009 is looking to make a name for itself in a big prove-it game.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.